Fall events at SFU

I hope your school year is off to a great start. And thanks to all those who participated in our welcome and orientation events, and helped to launch the new semester in a manner that befits a truly “engaged university.”

I had the pleasure last week of welcoming some of our incoming students in the stunning new building that is part of our Surrey campus.

Designed by the late visionary architect Bing Thom, the facility will be home to our new Sustainable Energy Engineering (SEE) program, a first-of-its-kind in Western Canada that will help B.C. become a leader in sustainable energy and clean technologies. It is heartening to know that women comprise 40 percent of SEE's first undergraduate cohort, compared with 15-20 percent in the province’s current technology workforce.

The start of the school year offers many opportunities to make new discoveries and acquire fresh knowledge. It's also a good time to reflect on future possibilities.

At SFU, we have a planned a full roster of activities to help you do just that. Here are just some of the events that you can look forward to this fall.

On September 19, we launch the President’s Dream Colloquium on Creative Ecologies, with guest speaker Elizabeth Povinelli, who is the Frans Boas professor of Anthropology and Gender Studies at Columbia University.

This interdisciplinary colloquium series will bring a number of leading thinkers to SFU to examine how cultural practitioners – artists, writers, anthropologists, historians and interdisciplinary theorists – critically address and creatively negotiate environmental concerns. All lectures are free and open to the university community.

Our annual Terry Fox Run takes place on September 27 at all three campuses in honour of the remarkable SFU student who continues to inspire people around the world. Everyone at SFU is encouraged to participate by running, walking, volunteering and/or donating to support cancer research.

Fall Convocation takes place on October 10 and 11. In addition to celebrating the achievements of our outstanding graduating class, honorary degrees will be bestowed upon three extraordinary individuals: Timothy Caulfield, Lorne Trottier and SFU alumnus Nadine Caron.

You can find a more comprehensive list of fall activities on the SFU events page.

I look forward to seeing you at various campus events. It is always a pleasure to meet members of the SFU community, hear about your aspirations and achievements, and discuss ways in which we can advance our mission to be Canada’s engaged university.